1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed in general to an Internet phone service system and method for operating same. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a softphone user interface and method of using a softphone interface to provide improved communication functionality for softphone users.
2. Description of the Related Art
A softphone is a software program for making telephone calls over the Internet network and telecom network using a computer-based device, as opposed to dedicated telephony hardware. Existing softphone designs typically include standard telephony features (DND, Mute, DTMF, Flash, Hold, Transfer etc.), along with additional telecommunication services (such as phone call, voicemail, Direct Inward Dial (DID) number, etc.), call assist features (such as a contact list, call history, etc.), and additional features typical for online messaging, such as user presence indication, video, wide-band audio, and the like. With the introduction of improved hardware (e.g., touch screen input/output displays) and operating systems (e.g., (e.g., Android, IOS, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, etc.) in recent years, telephonic computing devices with cellular and/or wireless network capabilities and Internet Protocol (IP) desktop phones, such as iPhones and Android phones, are now available to provide enhanced communication features. However, as the number and complexity of softphone communication features increases, the ability of the user to efficiently navigate and operate the softphone communication features are extremely difficult at a practical level.